Borussia Dortmund kicked off their Champions League campaign with a win, defeating Villarreal 3-2, but the result took a backseat to a scare involving Konstantinos Karetsas. The 18-year-old Greek player fell ill and collapsed on the pitch during the first half of the match.
The incident happened suddenly. Karetsas raised one of his arms before lying down on the field and receiving attention from the medical team. The young player left the pitch on a stretcher, crying and under the fans' applause.
After the match, Dortmund's sporting director Lars Ricken stated that the player experienced a circulatory problem and that there were no prior signs that anything could happen. Ricken declared that it was circulatory issues that arose out of nowhere, without any prior indication.
